


casteliacones

by mettamaxie



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series)
Genre: Bakery and Coffee Shop, Crushes, F/M, Fluff, Holding Hands, Ice Cream, Light Angst, Secret Crush, i mean the battle cafe is TECHNICALLY that, it's there for a little bit but u know, pastelgothshipping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-23
Updated: 2020-01-23
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:02:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,084
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22369141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mettamaxie/pseuds/mettamaxie
Summary: Bede and Marnie stop for Casteliacones at the Battle Café.
Relationships: Beet | Bede/Mary | Marnie
Comments: 3
Kudos: 31





	casteliacones

The door opened to the smell of sweet baked goods and freshly made coffee. A small bell rung, alerting the Café Master to the two young trainers entering the Battle Café.

“Why, if it isn’t you two young children again,” the Café Master, Bernard, said with a hearty grin. The Alcremie next to him clapped in delight upon seeing the two trainers. “Would you possibly be looking for another battle today?”

“No, not today. We’re really very tired,” one of the young trainers, Bede, groaned. “We’d just like to get two Casteliacones, please.”

Bernard nodded, noticing the weariness in the boy’s face. “Of course. Give me just a moment.”

As the two waited at the counter, Bede yawned, placing his head on Marnie’s shoulder and slightly leaning onto her. She patted his cheek gently in response. “What’s got you so tired today?”

He gave a quiet hum. “I’ll tell you once I have my Casteliacone.”

Bernard turned back to the counter, a Casteliacone in each of his hands. Bede pulled himself away from Marnie’s shoulder, reaching into his pocket and placing some Pokédollars on the counter. He took the Casteliacones from Bernard’s hands and proceeded to make his way over to the nearby table.

As he got himself comfortable, he barely managed to notice that Marnie had stayed at the counter. She was speaking to Bernard in a low voice, inaudible to Bede from where he was seated. She seemed to be pointing at something in the display case, he couldn’t tell what it was. Bernard nodded, taking out a small plastic bag and...

Feeling a hint of his Casteliacone touch his cheek, Bede immediately sat up in his seat. Of course, he had been nodding off a little. He blushed a little in embarrassment, hoping that no one had noticed, though the other café patrons seemed too engrossed in their Rotomphones or their Pokémon to notice the young esteemed Fairy-type Gym Leader falling asleep in Hammerlocke’s Battle Café. He breathed a quiet sigh of relief when he saw Marnie approaching. She’d keep him awake thankfully.

“Alright,” Marnie said as she sat across from Bede, taking the untouched Casteliacone in her hands, “sorry for the holdup. Needed to get a lil’ somethin’ extra.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Bede said with a wave of his hand before going to wipe off the bit of ice cream on his cheek. “What were you getting anyways? I couldn’t see from here.”

“Oh! Um...I’ll show you later,” Marnie said quickly, shyly averting her gaze to the ground. “Anyway,” she shook her head, “how have you been? Feels like we haven’t seen each other in a while.”  
“Marnie, we just met up three days ago,” Bede laughed gently. He slowly began taking a few licks of his Casteliacone before letting out a small sigh. “I’ve been doing alright. I wish I wasn’t so tired.” He tapped his Rotomphone’s screen, checking the time and proceeding to sigh once again. It was still so early in the afternoon, yet he just wanted to sleep.

“Yeah, what’s that all about?” Marnie asked with a small tilt of her head. “You were just about ready to doze off at the counter.” She paused before putting a gentle hand on his arm, frowning in concern. “Have you been sleeping well as of late?”

Bede gave her a reassuring smile, removing his arm from her hold to put his hand on hers. “Don’t worry, I’ve been sleeping. It’s more of just,” he cut himself off with a yawn, “several Gym-related responsibilities. I have so much to do.” He licked at his Casteliacone as he began to feel it melt a bit in his hand. “It feels like I barely have time to sit down,” he mumbled, slouching forward a bit in his seat.

“Doesn’t Opal help you?” Marnie asked, beginning to nibble at the cone of her own ice cream.

Bede gave a half-shrug. “Yes? Sort of? You know how she can be. I appreciate her, it’s just...”

Marnie nodded. She completely understood, having quite a few moments like that with Piers. He was mostly very supportive, making sure that she was understanding everything about the Gym Leader process and explaining everything as best as he could. Sometimes, though, he’d have his days where his explanations or demonstrations were...less than stellar, to say the least. On those days, Marnie would just have to figure things out and practice on her own. Just something she knew she’d have to deal with at times. Maybe Opal was the same. She did have rather odd mannerisms after all. Perhaps it was a way for her to test Bede? Marnie wasn’t exactly sure. She didn’t want to pry.

“I wish she’d give me just a little more guidance,” Bede said, his voice unusually low. “I know she does this because she wants me to be more independent and think for myself, but...” His voice trailed off as he remembered the feeling of Wishing Stars in his hand: cold and rough with few traces of warmth. He remembered Stow-on Side. The loud crashing of the mural wall suddenly rang loudly in his ears. Rose’s voice reprimanded him in his head, his words stabbing at the young boy’s mind. His eyes darkened for a slight moment before softening and eventually closing. He took a deep breath before averting his gaze to the table, watching his Casteliacone melt pathetically in his hands. He tried to hide his deep frown, but his efforts were fruitless.

“...I don’t want to make another mistake again.”

Bede glanced up for a moment, though quickly looked away once he met Marnie’s crestfallen face. He bit his lip, slightly tightening the grip on his Casteliacone. He shouldn’t have said that.

“Sorry.”

Marnie studied the look on Bede’s face. She knew it all too well. The softened but cold eyes, the deep frown, the lowered eyebrows, the slightly clenched jaw that wasn’t all that noticeable unless one was taking a close look...yes, she was a bit familiar with it. She knew Bede didn’t like getting like this around her, and to be perfectly honest, Marnie wasn’t a fan either. Not because it annoyed her, oh no, never that. It just crushed her soul to see him so sullen and upset. She knew how much he had been through; he had already confided in her about that a little bit. Every time she thought about it, she got a deep ache in her chest, wanting so badly to do something but knowing that his circumstances were out of her control. It was then that she would think of something to say to him to comfort him, maybe bring even the smallest of smiles onto his face. Marnie liked seeing Bede smile, after all.

“Hey. Listen to me,” Marnie said quietly, slowly bringing her hand over and holding one of Bede’s hands. He flinched at the action but didn’t pull away. “You’re not going to make a mistake like that again.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Yes, I do. You know why?”

Bede raised an eyebrow at her.

“Because you have people now that wouldn’t mislead you.” She took the final bite of her Casteliacone, quickly wiping her hand off on a nearby napkin. She took Bede’s Casteliacone out of his hand, carefully placing it on the same napkin. She then took his other free hand in her own, gently squeezing it as she gave him a gentle smile. “We aren’t like him. We would never leave you like that.”

Bede’s shoulders dropped their tension a bit, but he remained silent.

“Bede, you have so many people that love you,” Marnie said, her voice soft but firm. You have Gloria, Victor, and Hop; they annoy you a lot, but they just wish the best for you. You have all the Gym Leaders, all of them have both of our backs. You have Opal. You have...”

She stopped herself for a moment as her heart skipped a beat in her chest. She felt a sudden embarrassment wash over her as she could barely speak her next set of words. Bede’s attention was piqued now, however, as he looked at her with quiet attentiveness. She blushed a bit as she looked at his eyes, a bit hidden by his mass of coarse, messy white curls. He was clearly intent on waiting for her to finish. Her next set of words shouldn’t have been hard to say, but...she prayed he wouldn’t catch on.

“...You have me.”

Bede’s own heart fluttered in his chest as he heard those words. He looked at her in shock as a blush rose to his face, tinting his cheeks with a soft shade of red. He knew he shouldn’t be thinking so deeply about it, everyone else she mentioned was spoken about in a strictly platonic sense, after all. Yet, his mind stayed focused on her words, repeating them over and over again in his head. He had her. She was someone who loved him. He knew she loved him platonically, that much was clear between the two. But maybe...maybe there could be something else there?

In that moment, Bede felt like they were the only two people in the world. No Bernard with his cheerful Alcremie. No café patrons sitting around them. No Pokémon sitting comfortably next to their trainers, nibbling away at snacks or sipping at drinks. It was just him and Marnie. Maybe he could work up the courage. This time, he could. He could work up the courage to gently tighten his grip on her hands as he stared into his eyes, leaning over as he said the three words he could barely say aloud, getting closer and closer to her until...

“I... I’m glad I do,” he mumbled, smiling weakly. No, not this time.

Marnie gave his hands another gentle squeeze before pulling away, looking down at Bede’s Casteliacone sitting on the napkin next to her. “Oi, you didn’t even finish your Casteliacone this time! You aren’t deciding to give them up, are you?” she asked playfully. Bede’s smile grew a little more at that, causing him to giggle a bit.

“No, no, I was just too tired for it,” he shrugged. He relaxed a bit in his seat before sitting up again. “Oh, hold on, what _were_ you buying before you came to sit here?”

Marnie hesitated for a moment as she put her hand in her pocket. She felt the small plastic bag inside underneath her fingertips, gently grazing them against the Sweet Hearts sitting in the bag. She wanted to pull the bag out of her pocket and offer some to Bede, but something held her back. She grabbed the bag and tried to pull it out of her pocket, but there was barely any effort made in attempting to take it out. Her arm was frozen, paralyzed, stuck. Releasing her grip on the bag, she pulled her hand out and rested it on the table again. The unnoticed tension that had been building in her shoulders within the last few seconds was suddenly released. 

“Ah, that was just...something for Morpeko. You know how she is when it comes to sweets,” Marnie said quickly through a slightly crooked smile. Maybe she’d try again another day.

A slight glimmer of suspicion passed through Bede’s eyes as he looked at her, though it went just as quickly as it had come. “Well, with that being said, I think we’re done here for today, aren’t we?”

“Yeah. Already finished my Casteliacone, unlike you,” Marnie quipped, winking before standing up and offering the boy a hand. He rolled his eyes and blushed in embarrassment, taking her hand as she helped him up from his seat.

“Don’t worry. I’ll finish my Casteliacone before you do next time,” he assured with a smirk.

The pair followed each other out of the Battle Café, greeted by the warm sun still shining down on the bustling Hammerlocke street. Bede breathed in the gentle summer air. He was still tired, but he felt lighter now. Peaceful, even. Marnie took a quick glance at the boy next to her, unable to hide a smile as she saw his violet eyes shining so brightly in the sunlight as a gentle smile crossed his own face. She didn’t realize it, but even she felt better at the mere sight of his tranquility.

The two didn’t even notice their hands still interlocked, a gentle grip that yearned to stay.

**Author's Note:**

> i come bearing another pastelgothshipping bc. i love them :) the idea of them hanging out at the battle cafe wouldn't leave my mind so i caved and wrote this little thing. i did it on a whim and didn't plan too much but i really like this one. it's cozy.
> 
> anyways!!!! i don't have much to say abt this one except that i like it and i hope you like it too!!!! stan pastelgothshipping


End file.
